[electronic beeping, buzzing]
[indistinct chatter]
[narrator] It's June 2014,
and online news site BuzzFeed is holding the ultimate taste test.
Mexican Coke versus American Coke.
Yum, yum, yum!
[narrator] Why?
Mexican Coke exported to the US is made with the classic recipe
using cane sugar to sweeten it.
Mmm!
That's definitely super bubbly. It's, like… It's freaking me out.
Cleanse the palate.
[narrator] But for the last four decades,
American Coke has contained a controversial ingredient.
High fructose corn syrup.
More of an aftertaste to the canned one. I kinda prefer the Mexican one.
[narrator] In the final showdown, Mexican Coke is the big winner.
-Yeah, that's definitely better. -Mexican soda, the winner.
[narrator] But high fructose corn syrup is no loser,
especially when you look at the numbers.
The average American ingests over 21 pounds
of high fructose corn syrup every year.
It's found in nearly every aisle in the supermarket,
and in foods you might not expect.
In 2020,
the US produced 7.6 million tons of the stuff,
enough to coat the whole of Manhattan.
And since 1975,
Americans have consumed 168 million tons of the syrup.
That would cover the whole of Los Angeles.
And yet, a 2016 study
found 53% of respondents try to limit or avoid high fructose corn syrup.
[crowd clamoring]
With a market size of around $8.8 billion,
high fructose corn syrup is more than an economic juggernaut.
Its producers are serious power players
courted by politicians.
Truly delighted to be here with the incredible farmers
who feed our nation and preserve the American way of life.
[narrator] But its reputation is far from sweet.
It is low-nutrition, high-calorie stuff.
[narrator] How did high fructose corn syrup rise up
to dominate supermarket shelves?
[man] Get the cookies! The kids want cookies!
[narrator] And what is it doing to our health?
[fizzing]
It's 1971, and US President Richard Nixon has a problem.
American farmers are struggling.
Their income has plummeted, partly due to rising costs of production.
The people of this nation's farms have not been receiving
their fair share of progress and prosperity.
[narrator] Nixon needs the farmers' vote to help him win reelection,
so he appoints a new secretary of agriculture
who's an old hand in the farming world, Earl Butz.
I want as good a living for these family farmers
as our city cousins can get.
[narrator] Four months before the election,
Butz oversees a huge foreign grain sale,
worth $750 million,
to America's Cold War enemy, the Soviet Union.
I think most of the wheat growers in Kansas would favor trade with Russia.
[narrator] Farm income soon spikes.
And riding high on the farmers' approval,
in November 1972,
Nixon sweeps to reelection,
winning 49 out of 50 states.
I've never known a national election
when I would be able to go to bed earlier than tonight.
[laughter]
[narrator] But in 1973,
with US grain supply now depleted,
food prices soar.
The same year, the government renews the farm bill
with the aim of maximizing production and adding an incentive.
If grain drops below a set price,
the government and taxpayers will make up the difference.
The largest of these crops and key to the nation's food supply is corn.
Butz encourages farmers to plant fencerow to fencerow,
producing as much as they possibly can to help drive food prices down.
That year,
they produce over 40 million more tons of corn than three years earlier.
Butz's plan has worked… too well, in fact.
There's soon far too much corn.
What can be done to solve this grain glut?
[man] Japan, land of legends, Land of the Rising Sun.
[narrator] In the 1960s,
Japanese scientists figured out a way to mass-produce a sticky sweetener
made from corn.
Butz realizes this method could use up his problematic surplus,
and he encourages American producers
to start making the syrup on a commercial scale.
The US high fructose corn syrup industry
is born.
So how exactly is this innovative sweetener made?
Corn kernels are soaked and then milled to produce cornstarch.
Two different enzymes are added to the cornstarch,
breaking it down into smaller glucose molecules.
A third enzyme then turns this glucose into another sugar called fructose,
which is found naturally in fruit and honey.
The fructose is mixed with glucose syrup,
making a sweet, gloopy mixture,
high fructose corn syrup.
But the name is confusing.
Its fructose content is only high
compared to regular corn syrup.
It has roughly the same amount of fructose as ordinary sugar.
Still, if turning corn into a sweetener is going to help the grain glut,
there needs to be a demand for the stuff.
And at first, there's not much interest from food companies
to make the switch from sugar, a tried-and-tested sweetener
used for over 5,000 years.
But by 1974,
global sugar demand starts to exceed supply,
partly due to the failure of Europe's sugar beet crop.
[man] Brokers have seen the cost of raw sugar
nearly doubling in eight weeks.
The industry says prices are high because of a worldwide shortage.
[narrator] It has real impact at the checkout counter.
[woman] Two dollars and 20 cents.
Ridiculous.
[narrator] Food companies start to turn their attention
to high fructose corn syrup.
There's a nearly unlimited supply, and it's produced in the US,
while 50% of sugar is imported and subject to quotas and tariffs.
By the end of 1974,
Dr. Pepper, Fanta, and Sprite
start using high fructose corn syrup in their sodas.
Still, the biggest brands are holding out.
And unfortunately for corn farmers, their market advantage doesn't last long.
Sugar crops recover, and the price of sugar plummets.
Corn refiners can't make high fructose corn syrup cheaply enough
to compete.
To make matters worse, in January 1980,
President Jimmy Carter decides to penalize the Soviet Union
for their invasion of Afghanistan
with a grain embargo.
[crowd chanting]
The 17 million tons of grain ordered by the Soviet Union
in excess of that amount which we are committed to sell
will not be delivered.
[narrator] The international market for all that corn shrivels.
[man] Everyone wanted to sell and no one to buy,
as grain prices fell by the maximum margin allowed in a single day.
[narrator] With corn prices in free fall,
high fructose corn syrup suddenly gets a whole lot cheaper,
and that finally gets the attention of big beverage brands.
In 1980,
Coca-Cola announces it will substitute high fructose corn syrup
for 50% of the sugar used in Coke.
Within two months,
Pepsi introduces it into their fountain soda too.
Meanwhile, President Carter's grain embargo
remains highly unpopular among farmers,
and his opponent in the 1980 election, Ronald Reagan,
uses their outrage to his advantage.
When the president "just" employed the grain embargo,
it was grandstanding for the American people at your expense.
[narrator] On election night, Reagan wins by a landslide,
becoming the 40th President of the United States.
There's never been a more humbling moment in my life.
[narrator] Great news for Reagan and corn farmers.
Within four months of taking office, the new president ends the grain embargo.
Could be that the corn market'll come up now,
and we'll make some money this year.
[narrator] The price of sugar in the US heads north
after Reagan introduces restrictive quotas on sugar imports.
Once again, high fructose corn syrup is the cheaper sweetener.
Now, more and more of the big beverage and food manufacturing companies
scramble to switch.
And people start to consume more syrup.
In 1981,
the average American eats four teaspoons of high fructose corn syrup per day.
That's 13.4 pounds every year.
High fructose corn syrup starts popping up all over the supermarket.
First on our shopping spree…
Yay!
[narrator] From baked goods…
Cookies! What about cookies?
[narrator] …to cereal and even in wine.
But most consumers are in the dark about what this new sweetener actually is.
In terms of sweetness and calories,
high fructose corn syrup and regular table sugar are the same.
So what's the difference between them?
Chemically, not much.
Sugar is made of one molecule of glucose bound to one molecule of fructose.
High fructose corn syrup is made from these same molecules,
but they aren't bound together. They're free to float around.
And this gives high fructose corn syrup an edge
when it comes to some processed food.
It retains moisture better than sugar, extending its shelf life
as well as improving the appearance and texture of food.
In 1984,
Coca-Cola, one of the world's largest buyers of sugar,
announces it will switch most of its US products
to using high fructose corn syrup.
And Pepsi does too.
It's predicted that the move will add about a million tons to domestic demand.
And high fructose corn syrup isn't just taking over beverages.
By 1985, it's replaced sugar in lots of processed foods,
and its market share is more than a third of all caloric sweeteners.
Cheaper products now flood supermarket shelves
and the fast-food market.
It's great for corn-processing companies' bottom lines
but not for consumers' bottoms.
There's a rise in all kinds of processed food
loaded with caloric sweeteners,
and by the mid-1980s, it's clear.
Americans are getting fatter.
For the first time,
experts from across the country are calling obesity a killer disease.
[narrator] As of 1985,
around 20% of people are classified as obese.
For now, most people are pointing the finger at fat
rather than sugar,
which works out pretty well for the corn syrup industry.
Food producers know that cutting the fat makes processed food a lot less tasty.
So to put out low-fat products that are still flavorful,
food companies start adding more and more sweeteners,
like high fructose corn syrup,
which means these low-fat foods often have just as many calories
as the high-fat versions.
But the public is hungry for that low-fat label.
They assume it means they can eat as much as they like
and often end up eating more than ever.
For food producers,
the low-fat diet means fat profits.
But for the rest of us?
Well, we just get fatter.
By 1987,
the amount of high fructose corn syrup Americans eat has more than doubled
to 8.3 teaspoons per day.
Twenty-eight pounds per year.
We ask our mom and dad if we can go to the fast-food restaurant,
and we like it
'cause there's good food there.
[narrator] Thanks in part to high fructose corn syrup,
food and drink is now cheap and plentiful,
but it's only a taste of what's to come.
1988 sees Taco Bell launch free refills on soft drinks.
Other fast-food restaurants are quick to do the same.
By 1989,
around 26% of US adults are obese.
Throughout the '90s,
high fructose corn syrup goes from strength to strength.
Supersizing is now all the rage,
and soda sizes balloon.
In 1999, domestic production of the syrup peaks at 9.5 million tons.
That same year,
consumption catapults to historic levels.
People in the US now eat 11.1 teaspoons of the sweetener daily,
a massive 37.5 pounds per year.
Meanwhile, Americans get fatter and fatter.
In 1999, obesity levels reach 36%.
As we go into the next millennium,
undoubtedly, obesity will become the number one major health problem.
[narrator] In the early 2000s,
an academic study on obesity makes an eye-popping connection.
Researchers chart data on the consumption of high fructose corn syrup
and compare it to obesity rates.
The two graphs follow a remarkably similar trajectory.
People start to wonder,
is high fructose corn syrup to blame for America's thickening waistlines?
It is low-nutrition, high-calorie stuff
and in part probably why there's an obesity epidemic in this country.
[narrator] So does high fructose corn syrup
really make us fat?
Well, like anything to do with diet,
it's complicated.
There are plenty of other factors that cause obesity.
But it seems high fructose corn syrup has made soda drinks cheaper and larger.
American adults are now guzzling 29% more soft drinks
than 25 years earlier.
It's also boosted the popularity of processed foods,
which are dense in calories and easy to binge.
People who eat them consume an average of 500 calories more a day
than those sticking to unprocessed foods.
Since 1975,
total consumption of caloric sweeteners has rocketed 25%,
with high fructose corn syrup increasing more than 1000%.
And because adding any of these sweeteners, including sugar,
can promote weight gain,
the more of it we eat, the fatter we get.
By 2007,
high fructose corn syrup has a bad reputation.
[screams]
Which would you honestly say is more likely to contribute to the death
of your average American?
A terrorist strike or high fructose corn syrup?
[narrator] But high fructose corn syrup
remains one of the top sweeteners in the US,
delivering huge paydays.
In 2008, one of the major players in the market, Archer Daniels Midland,
reports an operating profit of $529 million
from their sweetener division.
To keep the profits rolling in,
the Corn Refiners Association fights back against the bad publicity.
Our product has been highly mischaracterized
in the public domain.
[narrator] The CRA insists high fructose corn syrup
is no worse for you than any other caloric sweetener.
High fructose corn syrup is a nutritional, biochemical, and caloric equivalent
of table sugar.
[narrator] And in 2008,
the American Medical Association seems to agree.
Still, around 53% of Americans are concerned
that high fructose corn syrup may pose a health hazard.
[explosion rumbles]
But for most people,
it's hard to avoid.
High fructose corn syrup is now used in thousands of food items.
It's everywhere.
And like so many hit American products,
it's taken off around the world.
In 2009,
the world produces 15.7 million tons of high fructose corn syrup,
enough to sweeten 53 cans of soda
for everyone on the planet.
The vast majority, almost 70%,
comes from the US,
followed by Japan, and then China.
The US consumes the most,
more than 60%,
followed by Mexico and Japan.
Other countries hardly use it at all,
many preferring their homegrown sugar.
Despite its tarnished reputation,
the high fructose corn syrup industry continues to make mega-profits,
in part because of US government subsidies to corn producers.
Between 1995 and 2020,
federal corn subsidies total $116.6 billion,
far more than any other agricultural industry.
How much do you, does your family get a year at the moment?
Somewhere around $20 an acre.
[narrator] Why?
Perhaps due to a quirk of the American electoral system.
We're gonna make… America grow again, grow.
That begins with supporting our family farms
right here in Iowa.
[narrator] Iowa grows more corn than any other state,
and it also happens to be the first state to choose presidential candidates
from the major political parties.
So a whole lot of politicians are eager to get corn farmers on their side.
I know Iowa's gonna be key to what happens to America
in the next generation.
[cheering and applause]
[narrator] The corn industry today
may still enjoy outsized political influence,
but high fructose corn syrup is still struggling to win
in the court of public opinion.
Big brands like Papa John's Pizza, Burger King, and McDonald's
start to back away from it.
[man] We are creating a different food culture at McDonald's.
Removing high fructose corn syrup from our buns…
[narrator] By 2020,
Americans' consumption of high fructose corn syrup
has nearly halved since its peak
to 6.2 teaspoons every day.
That's 21.1 pounds per year.
High fructose corn syrup remains highly controversial,
but there's no doubt it has transformed the American diet.
Switching out sugar has helped give the public cheaper processed food,
free refills, and huge portions.
Mm. Mmm!
[narrator] And thanks to those huge government subsidies
and mega-profits,
high fructose corn syrup is unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon.
The thing is, despite all that bad PR,
including a deluge of social media videos warning about the sweetener…
X out high fructose corn syrup. Don't put it in your daily diet please.
[narrator] …there's really not much separating high fructose corn syrup
from regular sugar.
As for how they affect the taste of food,
well, that's in the tongue of the beholder.
[man] They are basically equivalent.
The problem is they're both bad.
[narrator] The reality is, when it comes to overeating,
it's easier to blame an ingredient than our own habits.
It's far better to avoid eating
ultra-processed and high-sugar foods altogether,
but of course, that would make life a lot less sweet.
[upbeat jazz music plays]